Sixth Street Park, Arts, River & Connectivity Improvements (PARC) Project Los Angeles, California Historical Resource Evaluation Report Prepared by: April 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................ 2 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 3 1.1 Purpose and Qualifications .................................................................................. 3 1.2 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 6 2. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ............................................................ 10 2.1 National Register of Historic Places ................................................................... 10 2.2 California Register of Historical Resources ....................................................... 12 2.3 Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Ordinance ....................................................... 14 2.4 Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone Ordinance ......................... 14 3. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING .............................................................. 15 3.1 Description of the Project Study Area .............................................................. 15 3.2 Development History ........................................................................................... 16 3.3 Historical Resources in the Project Study Area ................................................ 19 4. PROJECT IMPACTS .......................................................................... 22 4.1 Determining the Significance of Impacts on Historical Resources .............. 23 4.2 Secretary of the Interior's Standards ................................................................. 23 4.3 Project Description ............................................................................................... 25 4.4 Analysis of Project Impacts ................................................................................. 30 5. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 37 6. SOURCES ......................................................................................... 38 Attachment A – Potential Historical Resources in Project Study Area Attachment B – Conceptual Plans Attachment C – Resumes Cover page rendering from Conceptual Plans, July 2018 Historical Resource Evaluation Report – Sixth Street PARC, Los Angeles Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Sixth Street Park, Arts, River & Connectivity Improvements (PARC) Project is located in a fully developed, mixed-use urban setting east of downtown Los Angeles, straddling the east and west sides of the Los Angeles River. The PARC Project would occupy vacant property at the footholds of the new Sixth Street Viaduct, which is currently under construction. The purpose of this report was to determine if the PARC Project would have any impacts on historical resources subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). GPA established a Project Study Area for this report that is larger than the PARC Project Site. The Project Study Area is roughly a two-parcel radius to the north and south of East 6th Street and Whittier Boulevard from South Boyle Avenue on the east to Mill Street on the west. The Project Study Area also includes a segment of the Los Angeles River, adjacent railroad right-of-ways, and two bridges located between East 4th Street to the north and East 7th Street to the south (see Figure 1). The Project Study Area comprises 129 legal parcels and two bridges that do not have assessor's parcel numbers (APNs). Attachment A of this report includes a complete list of the 42 buildings, three structures, and two railroad properties within the Project Study Area that were considered as potential historical resources under CEQA. Properties within the Project Study Area that are less than 45 years of age were eliminated as candidates for further study because there was no evidence that these recently constructed properties met the criteria for landmark designation at the national, state, or local levels. After research and field survey, it was determined that there are four historical resources as defined by CEQA in the Project Study Area: the Fourth and Seventh Street Viaducts, the Los Angeles River Channel, and the Los Angeles Industrial Historic District. The Fourth and Seventh Street Viaducts are designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments. No other properties in the Project Study Area were previously determined eligible for or are currently listed as landmarks at the national, state, or local levels. Environmental reviews for past projects involving the Los Angeles River identified segments of the Los Angeles River Channel outside of the Project Study Area as eligible for listing on National Register of Historic Places as contributing elements of the larger, 51-mile linear resource. The Los Angeles River Channel is presumed to be a historical resource under CEQA. All buildings within the Project Study Area that are potential historical resources under CEQA have been previously evaluated as part of recent historic resources surveys. One district, the Downtown Los Angeles Industrial Historic District, was identified by SurveyLA in 2016 and is partially within the Project Study Area. No district contributors were identified within the Project Study Area. GPA re-surveyed the Project Study Area and did not identify any historical resources that were not already identified by the SurveyLA historic resource survey or other recent surveys. GPA concurred with the findings of SurveyLA and did not identify any additional historical resources in the Project Study Area. The PARC Project would not involve the demolition of any buildings or structures within the Project Study Area. Previously identified historical resources would not be materially impaired and would continue to be eligible for listing. The Project would not cause substantial adverse change in the significance of any historical resources. Therefore, the Project’s impact on historical resources is less than significant and no mitigation is required or recommended. Historical Resource Evaluation Report – Sixth Street PARC, Los Angeles Page 2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose and Qualifications The purpose of this report is to determine if the Sixth Street Park, Arts, River & Connectivity Improvements (PARC) Project would impact historical resources. The PARC Project Site is currently vacant within a fully developed, urban setting bisected by the channelized Los Angeles River. Land uses along east and west sides of the river are predominantly industrial and commercial. The PARC Project would not involve the demolition of any buildings or structures within the Project Study Area established as roughly a two-parcel radius of the Project Site (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Project Study Area. See Figure 2 and Figure 3 for map insets. (GPA, January 2018) Attachment A of this report includes a complete list of the 42 buildings, three structures, and two railroad properties within the Project Study Area that are potential historical resources under CEQA (see Figure 2 and Figure 3). Properties within the Project Study Area that are less than 45 years of age were eliminated as candidates for further study because there was no evidence that these recently constructed properties met the criteria for landmark designation at the national, state, or local levels. Historical Resource Evaluation Report – Sixth Street PARC, Los Angeles Page 3 Figure 2: Inset map of west side of Project Study Area; numbered properties correspond to Attachment A. (GPA, January 2018) Historical Resource Evaluation Report – Sixth Street PARC, Los Angeles Page 4 Figure 3: Inset map of east side of Project Study Area; numbered properties correspond to Attachment A. (GPA, January 2018) Historical Resource Evaluation Report – Sixth Street PARC, Los Angeles Page 5 Allison M. Lyons, Associate Architectural Historian, and Jenna Kachour, Senior Architectural Historian, at GPA were responsible for the preparation of this report. The report was peer-reviewed by Christine Miller Cruiess, Senior Architectural Historian at GPA. Audrey von Ahrens, Architectural Historian II at GPA, assisted with fieldwork documentation. Ms. Lyons, Ms. Kachour, Ms. Cruiess, and Ms. von Ahrens fulfill the qualifications for historic preservation professionals outlined in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 61. Their resumes are included as Attachment C. 1.2 Methodology In conducting the analysis of potential historical resources, GPA performed the following tasks: 1. Established the Project Study Area for the report as an area larger than the actual Project Site. • The Project Study Area is roughly a two-parcel radius to the north and south of East 6th Street and Whittier Boulevard from Interstate 5 on the east to Mill Street on the west. The Project Study Area also includes a segment of the Los Angeles River, adjacent railroad right-of-ways, and two bridges located between East 4th Street to the north and East 7th Street to the south (see • Figure 1). 2. Reviewed the California Office of Historic Preservation Historical Resources Inventory (HRI) directory for Los Angeles county, which includes properties listed and determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, listed and determined eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources, California Registered